Jazznicity: Big steps for Tokyo's little jazz labels

Independent labels have always been a mainstay of the Tokyo jazz scene, but
this year saw a bumper crop of good music coming from small labels. While many
of these artists' recordings can only be found at their shows, stacked up
neatly on fold-up tables at the back of the club, a number of the larger music
stores have started stocking them. That alone must be considered progress for
these little-known groups, since their small labels are dedicated to vibrantly
creative Tokyo jazz, rather than churning out ear candy. Recorded at small
studios, homes or out-of-the-way clubs and
produced, mastered or mixed by the musicians, these recordings feel handc
rafted. These CDs are the top 10 picks of the past year. If you want to hear them
live, check out their Web sites to get the performance schedules.

This saxophone quartet opens its shows by marching onto the stage playing
loud and loose, and that carnival entrance sets the stage for their exuberant
reworkings of jazz and popular tunes. They reharmonize numbers such as Stevie
Wonder's "I Wish" into four layers of funkiness. With their distinct, individual
voices, they sound at times like a sultry barbershop quartet or like free-jazz
gospel. Their tight interplay, especially on the well-arranged originals,
engages the audience with a swirl of rhythm, counterpoint and texturing. You'll
never miss the rhythm section.

Chosen as the Japanese representative for the first-ever Synergy Live
international piano trio festival in Tokyo last year, Akira Ishii received
applause more on musical than national grounds. His delicacy of touch, breadth
of conception and never-rushed rhythms stayed within the traditional parameters
of piano trio, but beautifully so. Ishii's piano, bass and drums trio
delivers carefully sculpted moods with fresh artistry.

Propelled by bassist Eddie Gomez (known for his work with Bill Evans) and
drummer Billy Hart (known for his work with Stan Getz), sax man Tetsuro Kawashima
takes flight on "True Eyes," his third release this year. Kawashima has
outdone himself by writing eight fascinating compositions that he knew would engage
the experience and artistry of Gomez and Hart. Kawashima's long flights of
melodic invention sound effortless, even when fraying the edges and pushing for
new sounds.

Saxophone solos are in some way a central component of jazz. So why not an
entire CD of solo sax? Tenor saxophonist, flutist and bass clarinetist Nao
Takeuchi took up the challenge. The opening rendition of "Love Me Tender" may at
first elicit surprise, but it eases into a sustained and intense reflection on
that well-known melody. Attention never flags on his extended solos as Takeuchi
conjures up endlessly spiraling lines that pile in harmonic layers.

The title captures the spirit of the band nicely. This high-energy septet
invites plenty of friends on board for an unusual ride. "Jass" was one of the
original New Orleans' spellings of "jazz," and the group's expansive asymmetrical
sound has a similarly loose and ragged comfort to it. However, they keep the
electricity very much plugged in. Heading not toward Dixieland but toward the
stratosphere, this raucous, wild and fusionesque recording is
the sleeper hit of the year.

This is one of the best recordings the longtime members of pianist Takeshi
Shibuya's nonet have put together to date. The title pays homage to their
favorite club, Aketa no Mise, a funky dive in Nishi-Ogikubo where they hold court
once a month. The fresh and playful inventiveness of the band pulls its groove
from disparate sources: funky bass, raw punkish drumming, laid-back organ,
spacey guitar chords, and a free-wheeling horn section. This is unconventionality
that sounds achingly beautiful.

After the dueling effects-laden guitars rip apart the opening lines of Louis
Prima's "Sing, Sing, Sing," this quartet heads off in search of other "nice"
tunes to deconstruct. With the help of chest-rattling bass and
elephant-stampede drums, these twin guitars romp through pieces with mischievous glee. This is
loud music, dressing a Burt Bacharach tune in Jimi Hendrix clothes and
releasing the inner child in Lennon and McCartney's "Good Night." Somehow, they do
all this with tenderness, intelligence and humor.

Trumpeter Natsuki Tamura's quartet starts the title track with a melodic
Middle Eastern riff and quickly catapults into unceasing improvisation. Tamura's
free jazz has so much forward momentum that all predictability is swept away.
Don't expect the Blue Note sound here. Instead, the four instruments --
trumpet, keyboard synthesizers (by wife Satoko Fujii), guitar and samples, and drums
-- sound at times as if they're racing each other to the edge of a cliff. They
then leap off, without fear. Not for the faint of heart, this densely
layered, complex album is breathtaking.

Though based in New York, pianist Ayako Shirasaki returns to her hometown
Tokyo regularly for extended stays, playing in and outside the metropolis. This
recording of hard-bopping originals and standards gives Shirasaki plenty of
space to work her two-fisted technique. Her fierce left-hand playing works a
constant pulse that opens space for the bass and drums (of first-call drummer
Lewis Nash) to find variegated accents, textures and counter-patterns. With a
crisp, tight and inventive CD and strong live shows, fans can only hope Shirasaki
will move back full-time.

The two opening tunes on "Sora" are the most beautiful melodies on record
this year. The six originals by pianist and vocalist Ayako Sasaki feel at once
heart-rendingly wistful and resiliently strong, a natural union of Japanese
aesthetics and jazz conceptions. Few other Japanese vocalists sing or write lyrics
in Japanese, much less ones as poetic as Sasaki's. As a member of Shibusa
Shirazu, a large, fluctuating collective of musicians who create an organic,
groove-based style of music all their own, Sasaki invites several members of the
band on board, and they enter fully into the spirit of her poignant lyrics with
a strong and unassuming sense of cool.

For those music lovers who have stockings with a capacity larger than just 10
CDs, excellent recordings by Seiji Tada, Kazumi Watanabe, the Aramaki Band,
Kei Akagi and the Satoko Fujii Orchestra will nicely fill them up.

Michael Pronko writes for the The Japan Times, an English language
newspaper in Japan, about Japanese jazz, and jazz in general. He can be
reached here.